Governor Willie Obiano’s determination to rid Anambra State of criminal elements has continued to yield impressive results with the arrest of suspected kidnap kingpin, Okwuchukwu Nnagbo alias "Oyibo", aboard a South African Airways flight at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.

News Express learn that Nnagbo, who has since confessed to being the shadowy figure behind recent high-profile kidnap cases in Anambra, was on his way to South Africa to evade the current onslaught against criminals when a crack team of detectives from the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) from Anambra in collaboration with their Lagos State counterparts and the help of airport security operatives pounced on him inside the aircraft.

Nnagbo, who hails from Nri in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, is believed to be the ring-leader of a gang of armed robbers and kidnappers that had made life miserable for Ndi Anambra until the recent launch of Operation Kpochapu, a special anti-crime task force, by the two-month-old Obiano administration.

Announcing his arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Usman A. Gwary, revealed that the suspect was already aboard the Johannesburg-bound flight when he was picked up by his men. Nnagbo’s arrest came as a closing montage to a week of successful counter-offensive against kidnappers in Anambra that saw the members of Operation Kpochapu demolishing two impressive buildings that once belonged to dreaded kidnap suspects in the state.

The two buildings that were crushed to rubble belonged to Nonso Mgbe, a 25-year old notorious kidnap suspect from Azia village in Ihiala Local Government Area who is believed to have been responsible for the death of a former commander of SARS of the state police command, among numerous other high-profile kidnap cases.

As Mgbe’s impressive single-story building that sat on a large expanse of land bowed down to the rumble of an excavator, the on-looking villagers shook their heads in disbelief as it dawned on them that violent criminals hardly have a happy ending.

It was also far from a happy ending for Okechukwu Amasiatu of Ezinifite village in Nnewi South Local Government Area whose 9-bedroom bungalow was reduced to rubble by the men of Operation Kpochapu.

Amasiatu is alleged to have been behind the kidnap of many highly placed indigenes of the state but more importantly the brazen mowing down of five policemen at the famous Emeka Offor Junction in Oraifite, Nnewi. While Amasiatu walked the streets in freedom, Ndi Anambra walked in fear.

Sources from his Ezinifite village revealed that Amasiatu lived in Lagos but chose his village and the surrounding towns as easy targets for his criminal designs. They also revealed that there was something uncanny about Amasiatu as his elder brother, Chimaobi, was gunned down by the police in a shoot-out following a tip-off on the activities of his gang.

Speaking on the arrest of suspect Nnagbo and the demolition of the houses of kidnappers by Operation Kpochapu, Governor Obiano explained that his administration is determined to rescue Anambra from the grip of cutthroat criminals who had cut short the freedom of the people.

“I am going after their weapons supply line, I am pulling down their warehouses where they keep their victims and I am going after their command and control centers. We have warned them to desist from crime because my administration will not back down on this war till I leave office,” Governor Obiano declared, pointing out that he wanted to bring nightlife back to Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka.

“I want Ndi Anambra to go to sleep with both eyes closed. We have put in a lot of investment in this battle and we shall not come out of it in defeat,” he further assured.

The governor also used opportunity to reiterate his administration’s bold, revolutionary effort to discourage the youths of Anambra from a life of crime by compiling a comprehensive databank on them in preparation for job placements.

He advised every eligible youth in the state to participate in the data capturing exercise being organised by the ministry of youths and sports in order to qualify for the numerous packages that his administration is planning for them.

•Photo shows the house of suspected kidnap kingpin Nonso Mgbe bowing to the bulldozer.

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